Apparatus for processing protein fiber



April 18, 1967 FIG. I

R. C. DECHAINE ETAL APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING PROTEIN FIBER OriginalFiled Feb. 5 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS ROBERT C. DEOHAINE ROBERTW. CALLAGHAN ypfldpw AT ORNEY Ap 1 1967 R. c. DECHAINE ETAL 3,314,356 vAPPARATUS FOR PROCESSING PROTEIN FIBER Original Filed Feb. 5, 1963 4Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

INVENTORS ROBERT C. DEGHAINE ROBERT W. CALLAGHAN WMA/ .0

, 1 ATTORNEY April 8 1967, R. c. DECHAINE ETAL 3,314,356

APPARATUS- FOR PROCESSING PROTEIN FIBER Original Filed Feb. 5. 1963 I 4Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS' ROBERT c. DECHAINE ROBERT w. CALLAGHANATTORNEY April 18, 1967 R. c. DECHAINE ETAL APPARATUS FOR PROCESSINGPROTEIN FIBER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Feb. 5 1963 COMPRESSINGROLLERS FIG. 7 VIBBATE NEUTRALIZING FLUID T HEAT VIBRATE SERUM M FIG. 9

INVENTORS7 ROBERT c. DECHAINE ROBERT w. CALLAGHAN ATTORNEY 3,314,356APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING PRQTEW FIBER Robert C. Dechaine and Robert W.Callaghan, Minneapolis, Minn, assignors to General Mills, Inc., acorporation of Delaware Original application Feb. 5, 1963, Ser. No.256,467, new Patent No. 3,269,341, dated Aug. 30, 1966. Divided and thisapplication Apr. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 361,493 6 Claims. (Cl. 99-234) Thisinvention relates to an apparatus for treating a spun protein product,and more particularly an apparatus for treating edible fibrous proteinproducts by vibrating the product and a bath of treating fluid.

It is well known that artificial textile fibers can be prepared fromvegetable and animal protein, such as soy protein, corn protein, peanutprotein, casein and keratin. It is also known that such fibers can beused to prepare meat substitutes which ossess the required amount ofprotein and which can be made to simulate meat as to texture, flavor,and appearance. As disclosed in Boyer Patent 2,682,466, a meatsubstitute can be produced from edible protein material by formingprotein fibers or filaments and then by suitable means, binding thefibers. These protein fibers are prepared from a spinning dope ofprotein which is forced through a porous membrane such as a spinneret toform fibers which are coagulated in an acid salt bath and oriented bysuitable means, such as by a series of rolls revolving at increasingspeeds. The fibers are placed in a salt solution such as sodium chlorideof sulficient concentration to prevent the fibers from redissolving.Groups of these fibers in accordance with the method disclosed in theBoyer patent, are freed from eX- cess liquid by squeezing orcentrifuging. The fibers are mixed with a suitable binder. Theindividual groups of fibers are then assembled into a tow and passedthrough a bath of melted fat or the like, or alternatively theindividual groups of fibers are treated with fat and thereafterassembled into a tow. The toughness or tenderness of the resultingproduct can also be controlled to a degree by the amount of stretchwhich is imparted to the fibers in the initial forming procedure. Thisstretching results in an orientation of the molecules in the proteinfibers. The fiber bundles can be arranged so that they simulate the meatof mammals, fish, fowl, and shell fish.

The fibers must be further treated in order to produce a satisfactorysimulated food or meat product since the product often contains a numberof undesirable constituents such as acids, and the like. The bundles offibers are often compacted so that easy processing of the entire productto effectuate cleansing, neutralization, binding, flavoring, and otherprocessing is very difficult. The compacted fibers or filaments tend toresist the impregnation of the bundle by the various processing ortreating fluids which must be used to effectively change the raw proteinproduct to a usable meat or food substitute. Usual methods of treatingsuch a fibrous protein product are often ineflicient and do not resultin a completely desirable finished product. The undesirable productresults because the treating fluid, which may be a neutralizing agent,coloring material, flavoring agents, oils or the like are notsatisfactorily distributed throughout the bundle of fibers.

Thorough distribution of the treating fluid throughout the fiber bundlehas heretofore involved a costly and time consuming process. It istherefore highly desirable to have an apparatus whereby the fibers maybe treated in a continuous manner to produce a product whichsatisfactorily simulates meat and which accomplishes this result in anefiicient manner.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved apparatus for treating fibrous protein products.

United States Patent Ofifice 3,3l4,356 Patented Apr. 18, 1967 It isanother object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedapparatus for impregnating spun protein fiber with a treating fluid.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved apparatus for preparing simulated meat products from a fibrousprotein product.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedapparatus for treating a fibrous protein product with a fluid byagitating the product in the presence of a treating fluid.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedapparatus for impregnating edible fibrous protein products with atreating fluid by simultaneously vibrating the product and a bath of thetreating fluid.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved apparatus for separating the fibers of a spun protein productby vibration of the product and bath of treating fluid to impregnate thefibers with the treating fluid while conveying the fiuid and fibers thelength of a treating chamber.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention contemplatesimmersing or combining a spun protein product in a bath of treatingfluid. The treating fluid may be any number of fluids which may be usedto neutralize, flavor, wash, bind, color, or otherwise treat the fibers.The combined bath of treating fluid and product is then vibrated toelfectuate separation of the fibers and impregnation of the product bythe treating fluid While it is moved the length of a treating chamber.

The invention contemplates a novel apparatus, which may include areceptacle or treating chamber for confining a treating fluid to form abath. Feed rollers direct the spun protein products into the bath. Avibrator is attached to the receptacle to vibrate the bath of treatingfluid and product to convey the product and fluid along the receptacle,separate the fibers of the product, impregnate the product with thetreating fluid and otherwise process the product. A set of dischargerollers situated near the egress of the receptacle carries the productto a subsequent processing station. The rollers may also be used toremove excess fluid from the spun protein product. A treating fluidsupply system is provided to supply the needed treating fluid.

A complete understanding of the invention may be ob tained from thefollowing detailed description of an ap paratus forming specificembodiments when read in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of an apparatus according to the presentinvention showing the major components of the apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a plan View of the apparatus disclosed in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fractional cross section view taken along line 33 ofFIGURE 5 showing a feed roller for the apparatus;

FIGURE 4 is a fractional cross section view taken along line 4-4 inFIGURE 1 showing feed-in rollers for the apparatus disclosed in FIGURE1;

FIGURE 5 is a fractional view of a gear system taken along line 5-5 ofFIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a right end view of the apparatus disclosed in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a flow diagram for treating spun protein products;

FIGURE 8 is a fractional cross section view showing a bundle of spunprotein product in a bath which is subjected to vibratory motion-s;

FIGURE 9 is an isometric view of a bundle of fibers of a spun proteinproduct which has not been treated, and

FIGURE 10 is an isometric view of a bundle of fibers of a spun proteinproduct which has been treated according to the present invention.

The spun protein product can be produced by any of a number of methodsknown in the art. A wide variety of protein materials which are ediblecan be used in preparing the product. Representative of such materialsare soybean, corn, peanut, and pea proteins as well as various animalproteins such as casein. The edible protein may be prepared for exampleby dispersion in an alkaline medium in varying amounts, such as fromabout 10 to 30% by weight. A suitable alkaline medium is watercontaining an alkali metal hydroxide, that is about 5 to by weightsodium hydroxide. The pH of the spinning solution can be varied withinrelatively wide limits but may generally be in the range of 9 to 13.5.The viscosity and temperature of such dispersions is generally withinthe range of about 10,000 to 20,000 centipoises and about 35 to 45 C.,respectively. Viscosity, pH, temperature, and concentrations of alkali,metal hydroxide, and protein will vary somewhat with the particularprotein being dispersed. Also, the dispersion may amount to a colloidalsolution.

The dispersion of spinning dope is forced through a porous membrane,such as a spinneret used in the production of rayon, and into acoagulating bath which is generally an acid salt solution. Thestreamlets coming through the spinneret are precipitated in the form offilaments or fibers having a diameter of about 0003-0004 inch.Alternatively, coarser filaments or fibers can be produced by startingwith the proteins in the form of powdered material and plasticizing themwith about 25% alkaline water and then extruding the plasticized proteinmaterial through dies. The filaments of fibers produced by such aprocess have a much greater thickness which resemble paint brushbristles. It is also possible to have a series of spinnerets producingfilaments or fibers from the protein dispersion.

The fiber product is then processed in a coagulating bath of aqueoussolution of salt and an acid. The salt, sodium chloride for example, canbe used in widely varying concentration-s such as from 0.5 to 12% byweight. The acid can be any of those normally used in the coagulatingbath. Representative acidic compounds are acetic acid, lactic acid,citric acid, adipic acid, hydrochloric acid and the like. Theconcentration of the acid in the bath is not critical and normallyvaries between about 0.5 to 10% by weight.

The filaments or bundles of fibers are then stretched by pulling themfrom the coagulating bath over take-up reels. A variety of methods maybe used to stretch the filaments or bundles of fibers to the properlength, texture, and so forth.

The pH of the filaments or bundles of fibers leaving the coagulatingbath is generally in the :range of about 1.0 to 4.0 which isundesirable. Food products prepared from this protein product normallyhave a sour taste and are normally very dry and tough. Thus, the fibersmust be further processed. This further processing includesneutralization of the product by passage of the fibers through aneutralizing bath. Refer now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings. A bundle offilaments or fibers of spun protein product 11 is engaged by a pair ofrollers 12 and 13 which are designed to direct the product or tow 11into the ingress of a tubular receptacle or chamber 16. The rollers aredriven at a controlled rate of speed depending on the desired movementof the tow 11 through a chamber 16.

A vibrator 7 is connected to a base member 55 and vibrates chamber 16.Vibration of chamber 16 results in agitation of fiuid and fiber in thechamber 16 to convey the fiber and fluid, separate the fibers, andimpregnate the fibers with the fluid. The fiber and fluid are thendischarged and the fiber tow is engaged by a pair of adjustabledischarge rollers which remove excess fluid 4 from the fibers. Rollers89 and 91 are identical to rollers 12 and 13.

The rollers 12 and 13 are adjustable so that they may be utilized to notonly direct the continuous length of tow 11 into the ingress 14 but theymay also be used to remove excess fluid which may be in the tow 11 as aresult of the processing through the coagulating bath. The adjustablefeature of this pair of rollers or roller assemblies 12 and 13 can bereadily understood by reference to FIGURES 3, 4, and 5 of the drawingswhere an adjusting unit 17 is shown. The shaft 19 of the roller 12 iseccentrically mounted in an end plate 21. A ring gear 22 is mounted onthe outer periphery of the end plate 21 so that the end plate 21 may berotated about its axes. The shaft 19 may be mounted in a number of wellknown ways in the end plate 21 so that it can rotate and drive theroller 12. A shaft sleeve 23 surrounds the shaft 19 and is rigidlymounted in the end plate 21. End sleeve 23 surrounds the shaft 19 andacts as a surface upon which the bearings for the roller '12 are mountedfor rotation by the shaft 19. The shaft sleeve 23 is rigidly mounted inend plate 21 which in turn is connected to a carrier sleeve 25 whichsurrounds the shaft sleeve 23. Carrier sleeve 25 is mounted on bearings26 which provide for rotary motion between the carrier sleeve 25 and thehousing 27 of the apparatus. A second end plate 28 is provided oppositeend plate 21 to rigidly mount the shaft sleeve 23 and provide propersupport for the sleeve 23.

When a worm gear 29, which engages ring gear 22, is rotated by a powersource, which is not shown, the gear 22 rotates the end plate 21, thecarrier sleeve 25 attached to the end plate 21, and end plate 28. Thisrotation of the carrier sleeve 25 and end plates 21 and 28 results in achange in the position of the shaft 19 since the shaft 19 iseccentrically mounted in the end plates 21 and 28. Assuming that theshaft 19 is at a lowermost position in FIGURES 3 and 5, if the worm gear29 is rotated, the rotating ring gear 22 will carry the shaft 19 andshaft sleeve 23 upwardly as viewed in FIGURES 3 and 5. Since the drum 12is mounted on the shaft sleeve 23, the roller 12 will also moveupwardly. This upward movement of roller 12 carries the roller 12 awayfrom the roller 13 as viewed in FIGURE 1 leaving more space between thespacing surfaces of the two rollers. Thus the tow 11 which is passingbetween the rollers 12 and 13 is not compressed to such a great extent.

The rollers 12 and 13 are mounted for rotation on a shaft sleeve 23.(See FIGURES 4 and 5 of the drawings.) A motor 31 provides the power tooperate the rollers 12 and 13. The motor 31 is connected through auniversal connection 32 to a gear system 33. A drive sprocket 34 ismounted on a shaft 36 which in turn is driven through the gear system33. The drive sprcoket 34 is connected to a drum sprocket 37, drumsprocket 38, and an idler sprocket 39 by a chain 41. (See FIGURE 5 ofthe drawings.) As noted in FIGURE 3 in connection with the descriptionof the adjustable feature of the rollers 12 and 13, the drive shaft 19is mounted in plate 21 for rotation. The drive shaft is enclosed by theshaft sleeve 23.

A bearing block 43 is mounted within the roller cylinder 44 and providesa rigid connection between the roller sleeve 44 and an end plate 46.Plate 46 is attached to the end of roller sleeve 44 by bolt 47. Thedrive shaft 19 extends completely through the roller sleeve 44 and isconnected to the end plate 46. The power from the motor 31 is directedalong shaft 19 to the end of roller 12 which contains the end plate 46.Shaft sleeve 23 pro vides a cantilever mount for the roller 12 and isconnected to the roller sleeve 44 by a bearing'48 which is mounted onbearing block 43 (see FIGURE 4 of the drawings). The shaft sleeve 23 ismounted to the other end of the roller sleeve 44 by another bearingblock 49 and bearing 51 which provide a rotary connection between thesleeve 23 and roller sleeve 44. Since bearing block 43 is rigidlyconnected to the roller sleeve 44, the rotary motion is transferred tothe roller sleeve 44 so that the roller or roller assembly 12 rotateswith respect to shaft sleeve 23 on bearings 48 and 51.

Power is transferred to the roller 13 in exactly the same manner as thatdescribed with respect to roller 12 except that the chain 41 isconnected to the drum sprocket 38 so that the power is transferred tothe roller 13 in a direction which will permit the rollers 12 and 13 todirect the fiber tow 11 through the rollers. If the drum sprocket 37 isrotated in the clockwise direction as viewed in FIG- URE 5 so that thedrum 12 rotates in the clockwise direction then the belt or chain 41must be connected to drum sprocket 38 so that roller 13 rotates in thecounterclockwise direction.

As previously noted the drum 12 may be vertically adjusted so that itmay be separated from the roller 13 to provide a predetermined spacingbetween the rollers. When this adjustment is made by rotation of thering gear 22 by worm gear 29, a change in the amount of'chain 41 whichis necessary to interconnect the various sprockets will change. Tocompensate for this changing length of chain 41 which is necessary todrive the system, an idler sprocket 39 is provided. (See FIGURE 5.) Theidler sprocket 39 is connected to a bracket 32. The bracket is pivotallyconnected to the chassis 27 so that the sprocket 39 may be adjusted inan are which pivots about a pivot point 53. Opposite the pivot point 53a spring 54 is connected to the bracket 32 to maintain the chain taut atall times. Spring 54 tends to pivot the bracket and connected idlersprocket 39 in the clockwise direction to take up all the slack in thechain 41. When more chain 41 is needed as a result of a change in theseparation of the rollers 12 and 13, the bracket 32 simply pivots in thecounterclockwise direction against the action of the idler spring 54. Itcan be seen that this idler 3? automatically adjusts the length of thechain 41 since it is biased by the spring 54 and is not rigidlyconnected other than through a pivot point 53.

The tow 11 passes through the rollers 12 and 13, at a rate determined bythe desired movement of the tow through chamber 16. Tow 11 is squeezedto remove excess liquid and other material to a greater or lesserdegree. The tow 11 is directed into the ingress or input end 14 of areceptacle or chamber 16 which confines the tow for treatment. Theingress 14 is positioned so the tow 11 simply falls under the force ofgravity into flared end 54 which is bent at an angle with respect to thelongitudinal axes of the chamber 16. The opening 54 may e bent at anyangle as long as it satisfactorily receives the tow 11 from the inputrollers 12 and 13. As noted in FIGURES 2 and 6, there may be anyrequired number of chambers 16 and associated flared members 54. Anynumber of chambers 16 may be lined up to accommodate a series of tows 11which may be prossessed through the input rollers 12 and 13 from aprevious processin g system.

The chamber 16 is a tubular member such as shown in FIGURE 6. Each ofthe chambers 16 is mounted on a base member 55 which extends nearly theentire length of the chamber. The chamber 16 is connected to the base 55by brackets 56. These brackets 56 may be hinged to the base 55 or theymay simply be bolted to the base 55. In the case where several of thechambers 16 are utilized in the same machine to accommodate a number oftows passing between the rollers 12 and 13, a single base member 55 maybe used to accommodate the series of receptacles or chambers 16. Thechambers 16 are positioned on the base member 55 so that the ingress 14is slightly elevated above the egress 57. This slight elevation of theingress aids the flow of the tow and associated liquid to the egress.Slight elevation of the ingress is not absolutely essential, however,since a vibrator system is utilized to advance the tow 11 andaccompanying liquid through the chamber 16 and conveyance is possiblewithout the aid of gravity.

Simultaneously with the direction of the tow 11 into the flared portion54 of the chamber 16, treating fluid is introduced into the ingress 14through an input nozzle 58. The treating fluid is combined with the tow11 at the ingress so that the tow 11 is treated during the entire lengthof time that the tow 11 and the treating fluid flow along the enclosedor tubular chamber 16-. The treating fluid which is introduced into theingress 14 may be any one or more of a number of fluids which can beutilized to treat the fibrous protein product 11 to obtain a desiredfinished product. As an example, if the fiber or tow 11 is to beneutralized to raise the pH of the product from 1.0 to 4.0 up to a rangeof about 4.5 to about 7.0, the neutralizing agent may be a salt solutioncontaining an alkali metal hydroxide or bicarbonate. The treating fluidmay also be an alkaline agent other than alkali metal hydroxide.Particularly good results are obtained by using aqueous solutions ofalkali or alkaline earth metal sulphites. The neutralization may also becarried out by simply using water to wash the tow 11. The treatingfluid, which may be water, is simply introduced with the tow 11 to washthe product. On the other hand the treating fluid which is introduced atthe ingress may be such materials as binders, flavoring agents, coloringagents, and the like. Suitable binders including edible materials suchas starches, cereals, dextrins, proteins, gums, alginates, and the likemay be used. Preferably, if a binder is involved, the binder is heatcoagulable protein such as albumen. Various meat flavors which areavailable commercially can be added as the treating fluid.Representative thereof are bouillon cubes having chicken, beef, andother meat flavors. Synthetic ham, bacon, and sausage flavors may alsobe added as the treating fluid. Additionally, the treating fluid maycontain a variety of spices, salts, and other flavoring agents.

Vegetable oils and animal fats and oils can also be added to the fibers.Represenativethereof are soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, coconutoil, palm kernel oil, olive oil, peanut oil, sesame seed oil, tallow,lard, chicken fat, butter, cod liver oil, and the like.

Thus it can be seen that the treating fluid which is intro duced throughthe nozzle 58 can be any number of fluids utilized to process the tow 11so that a particular product having unique characteristics will resultfrom the treatment. The treating fluid is stored in a tank 61 which ismounted on the chassis 27. The treating fluid 62 is deposited in acollection hopper 63 of the fluid system 64. A valve 66 is provided tometer the treating fluid 52 from the tank 6 1 into the hopper 63. Themetering device 66 is illustrated as a simple valve, however it may beany number of commercially available metering systems connected in thesupply line 67. The fresh treating fluid which comes from tank 61together with used treating fluid which flows into the hopper 63 throughline 68, is pumped by the pump system 69 into a line 71. Line 71supplies the nozzles 58 at the input end or ingress 14 of the chamber16. The pump system 69 includes a motor 72 which operates a fluid pump73 for pumping the treating fluid at a predetermined rate into theingress 14 of the chamber 16. The line 71 acts as a supply line both forfresh liquid 62 and for used liquid which is coming from the chamber 16.In other words, supply line 71 is a feedback line with respect to theused fluid which is returned to the ingress of the chamber 16. Thisfeature permits reuse of the treating fluid and reduces the amount ofused fluid which must be disposed of in the satisfactory operation ofthe system.

The tow 11 which enters the ingress 14 of the chamber 15 has a number offibers which are closely compacted. This compaction of the fibers in thetow 11 results due to the squeezing effect on the tow as a result ofpassage through rollers 12 and 13. The compacted fibers appearsubstantially as shown in FIGURE 9 of the drawing. The

fibers are randomly distributed in the tow but are squeezed relativelyclose together so that impregnation of the inner fibers by a treatingfluid is relatively difficult if not impossible to accomplish. Thisclose compaction of the fibers results in a number of problems withregard to neutralization, coloring, flavoring and other treatment of theinner fibers of the tow 11. We have found that the most successful wayof assuring that the tow is properly impregnated with the treating fluidfor neutralization, coloring, flavoring, and other purposes is to loosenthe tow or separate the individual fibers of the tow so that thetreating fluid may flow in and around each individual fiber.

In order to accomplish satisfactory separation of the fibers andimpregnate the tow with the treating fluid, we have used a vibratorysystem and preferably one in which the chamber 16 is supported for rapidconveying vibrations along a path having both longitudinal and verticalcomponents. Thus the vibrations cause the chamber to exert an effectiveconveying force on all portions of the tow as well as an effectiveagitating and impregnating force. A commercially available vibratorgenerally designated by a number 74 is connected to the base 55 andframe 27 to provide the vibratory oscillations for the chamber 16. Themotor 76 of the vibrator 74 is connected to the base '55 by a bracket77. The stationary portion 78 of the motor 76 is connected to a frame 79which in turn is bolted to the chassis or" the machine 27. Theoscillating portion of the motor 76 moves in the direction indicated bythe arrow in FIGURE 1 of the drawings. This vibratory motion is at anangle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the chamber 16. A spring81 forms another portion of the vibratory supporting system for chamber16. This spring member 81 is connected to the base member 55 and theframe 7h. The spring 81 cooperates with the motor 76 to provide thedesired vibratory motion of the base 55 and chamber 16.

Refer now to FIGURE 8 of the drawings where there is shown a fractionalcross section of the tubular chamber16 disclosed in FIGURE 1. The motor'76 of the vibrator sets up oscillatory motions or vibrations having aresultant vector force 82 across the axes of the tubular chamber 16 asshown in FIGURE 8. After the tow 11 and the treating fluid 62 areintroduced into the ingress 14 of the chamber 16, a bath 83 of thetreating fluid 62 is formed about the tow 11 within the chamber 16. Asnoted from the vector diagram in FIGURE 8, the vibrator 74 sets upvibratory motions which have force components which are vertical to thelongitudinal axis of the chamber 16 and also parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the tow 11 and chamber 16. The vertical vectorcomponent 84 tends to force the tow 11 vertically upward within thechamber 16- and in the bath 83 away from the bottom surface 86 of thechamber 16. Thus even though the tow 11 may not be buoyant enough tofloat in the bath 83, the force which is perpendicular to thelongitudinal axes of the tow 11 and chamber 16 will tend to maintain thetow 11 in a suspended position within the fluid bath 8 3. Thissuspension of the tow 11 insures that treating fluid completelysurrounds the tow 11 and provides for more eflicient impregnation of thetow 11 by the treating fluid as the fluid is also agitated by thevibratory system.

A component of force which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of thetow 11 and chamber 16 also exists within the vibrated chamber 16. Thisforce is represented by the force vector 8'7. Vector 87 tends to conveythe liquid of the bath 83' and the tow 11 to the right as indicated inFIGURE 8. The vibratory motion provides a means of conveying the tow 11from the ingress 14 to the egress 57 of the chamber 16 without thenecessity of tensioning the tow to pull it thorugh the bath by rollersor other means of conveyance. The magnitude of the oscillatory motionmay be adjusted by the usual method in a (syntron) vibrator to providesatisfactory movement of the tow 11 and treating fluid through thechamber 16 8 and to provide adequate agitation or vibration of the tow11 and bath 83.

The amplitude of the vibration should, however, be great enough toagitate the tow 11 and separate the various fibers so that the treatingfluid will impregnate the tow 11. The individual fibers of a fibrousproduct normally have some tendency to separate when the product issuspended in a fluid without tension. However this dispersion orseparation of the filament is quite often not adequate to insurecomplete impregnation of the product. Failure to contact the centerfibers of a bundle results in the case where the individual fibers donot adequately separate. The vibratory motion of the bath 83 and tow 11however provides adequate movement of the individual fibers so that thefibers separate one from the other to permit the treating fluid tocontact all fibers in the tow 11. Additionally the agitation orvibration of the bath 83 also insures that the treating fluid itselfmoves in and around the individual filaments or fibers of the tow 11 asindicated by the arrows 88 in FIGURE 10 of the drawings. Thus it can beseen that with the vibration of the bath 83 and the tow 11, the fibersor filaments of the product are forced apart so that treating liquid maycontact each fiber in the tow. Simultaneously, the treating fluid isagitated adequately to force the fluid to flow in and about theindividual fibers for complete impregation of the tow 11. The agitationof the tow 11 to separate the individual fibers has the additionaladvantage of flnfling the product so that the product which flows out ofthe chamber 16 is much more fluffy than the compact product which entersat the ingress 14 of the chamber 16-.

The tow 11 travels along the length of the chamber 16 and exits at theegress 57 of the chamber where the tow 11 is engaged by a pair ofdischarge rollers 89 and '1. The discharge rollers 89 and 91 are exactlylike the input rollers 12 and 13. The discharge rollers 8-9 and 91 areadjustable so that the spacing between the rollers may be varied tocompress the tow 11 to a desired degree. The drive mechanism and theadjusting features of the rollers 89 and 91 are exactly the same asthose discussed in connection with the rollers 12 and 13, consequentlyno additional discussion appears necessary concerning these particularaspects of the discharge rollers. The discharge rollers 89 and 91 areadjusted, under normal conditions, in such a manner that excess treatingfluid which has impregnated the tow 11 is forced or squeezed from thetow 11. Removal of excess treating fluid is often desirable since thetow 11 often is conveyed to subsequent processing stages where excesstreating fluid in the tow 11 is not needed or desired. The rate ofrotation of the discharge rollers 89 and $1 is fixed so that theperipheral velocity of the rollers is approximately equal to thelongitudinal velocity of the tow 11. The velocity of the tow 11 isdetermined by the amplitude, frequency and direction of the vibratoryforces generated by the (syntron) vibrator 74. The tow 11 also tends toflow from the egress 57 to some extent under the influence of gravityprovided the chamber 16 is elevated at its ingress 14. However, aspreviously noted, elevation of the ingress is not essential to theefficient operation of this system since the force component generatedby the (syntron) vibrator 74, which is parallel to the longitudinal axisof the tow 11 is adequate to convey the tow 11 along the length of thechamber 16.

Since the bath 83 of treating fluid is vibrated by the (syntron)vibrator 74, the treating fluid is also discharged at the egress 57 ofthe chamber 16 along with the tow 11. This treating fluid which isdischarged together with treating fluid which is squeezed from the tow11 by the rollers 89 and 91 is deposited in a funnel shaped fluidcollector 92 from which it is directed through opening 68 into the fluidhopper 63. This discharged treating fluid is then returned to the pumpsystem 69. The amount of treating fluid which is collected by the fluidcollector 92 is considerably less than the amount of fluid which isdirected into the ingress 14 of the chamber 16. This is the case sincethe tow 11 carries a considerable quantity of the treating fluid with iteven after it has been squeezed. The fresh treating fluid 62 is meteredas previously noted into the hopper together with the reclaimed treatingfluid and is directed to the pump system 69. The pump system thenreturns the combined fresh treating fluid and reclaimed treating fluidto the ingress 14 through a line 71 where the reclaimed fluid is reusedin the system. The amount of fluid which is directed into the ingress 14of the chamber 16 is controlled by controlling the rate of pumping. Thusthe level or depth of the bath 83 in the tubular chamber 16 iscontrolled within relatively accurate limits by simply controlling theamount of fluid which is pumped by the pump system 69.

The apparatus for treating the tow 11 can be utilized in a number ofways to process the tow 11 to produce a finished product. As previouslyindicated if the fiber of tow 11 is acidic, the treating fluid may beone of a number of liquids which are basic. This basic treating fluid isutilized in the chamber 16 to form the bath 83 so that the pH of the tow11 may be raised from an unacceptable range of from 1 to 4 to a moreacceptable range for a meat product between 4.5 to about 7. When theapparatus is utilized to accomplish this neutralization of the fibers,the treating fluid such as a solution containing an alkali metalhydroxide as previously noted, is introduced into the ingress 14 of thechamber 16. After the treating fluid is combined with the tow 11, thetow and treating fluid pass through the main body of the chamber 16where a bath 83 of the treating fluid is formed within the chamber 16.Next the vibrator 74 vibrates the bath 83 and combined tow 11 so thatthe fibers of the tow 11 are separated by the vibrating action of thebath 83 and tow 11. The vibra tory action also agitates the bathsufliciently so that the treating fluid is forced into and about theindividual fibers of the tow 11 as disclosed by the arrows 88 in FIGURE'10. Simultaneously with this vibration and impregnation of the tow 11 bythe treating fluid, which is neutralizing fluid in this case, the tow 11is conveyed along the length of the chamber 16 by the force componentwhich is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tow 11 and chamber 16.This force component also conveys the treating fluid of bath 83 with thetow 11. At the termination of the vibration when the tow 11 and thetreating fluid exit from the egress 57 of the chamber 16, the treatingfluid is separated from the tow 11 by the force of gravity. The treatingfluid falls into the fluid catch 92 where it is discharged. Ex cessfluid is then removed by the rollers 89 and 91. The tow 11 is thusneutralized in the basic treating fluid and is now ready for furtherprocessing in the event additional steps must be taken to produce afinished product.

A more specific example of the neutralizing step is illustrated by anacidic protein product fiber which is fed into the ingress 14 togetherwith a treating fluid which is a 0.1 to 1.0% solution of Na SO The fiberand treating fluid are vibrated and the tow is thoroughly saturated bythe sulfite solution. This treatment of the acidic protein product withthe sulfite solution will raise the pH of the product from the initial3.0-3.2 range to a pH of from 5.5 to 6.0. When the above describedapparatus is utilized to accomplish the vibration, the time necessary toeffectuate the neutralization is considerably reduced. In the instantexample, the time is reduced from .a usual 4 to minutes to 30 seconds.

After the neutralizing step previously described, the filaments may thenbe freed from excess neutralizing solution by washing or similarprocessing. It is possible to simply water wash the tow 11 in a bath ofwater to remove excess basic treating fluid. However, it is possible toconnect, in tandem, another apparatus such as that described with theapparatus which has accomplished the neutralizing step. In thissituation the second apparatus which is connected in tandem is placed sothat its input 10 rollers 12 and 13 are adjacent the out-put rollers 89and 91 of the previous apparatus. The tow 11 is then direct ed into achamber 16 of the second apparatus and combined with a washing liquidsuch as water to form a bath 83. The step previously described ofvibrating thetow and bath 83 to convey the tow along the length of thechamber 16 and separate the fibers is then repeated. The water of thewashing bath impregnates the fibers of the tow 11 due to the vibratoryaction of the second vibrator so that all excess treating fluid isremoved from the tow 11.

The water wash or other washing fiuid is then separated from the tow 11in the same manner as the basic treating fluid was separated from thetow during the neutralization step.

A combination of this neutralization and washing process may be observedin FIGURE 7 of the drawings where a tow 11 is combined with aneutralizing fluid such as one of the basic fluids previously described.The combined neutralizing fluid and tow 11 are vibrated to separate thefibers of the tow 11 and impregnate the tow 11 with the treating fluid.The vibration and conveyance of the tow 11 along the length of a chambersuch as chamber 16 occurs simultaneously and the tow 11 exits from thechamber 16 and is separated from the treating fluid. The tow 11 is thensqueezed by a pair of rollers 89 and 91 (using the same number system asset forth in connection with the apparatus) where it is directed forfurther processmg.

Next the tow 11 is combined with a washing fluid. The combined tow 11and bath of washing fluid is then vibrated as disclosed by block 97 toaccomplish the impregnation, conveyance, and separation of the fibers ofthe tow 11. Again the tow 11 is separated from the treating fluid,washing fluid in this case, and is squeezed by a set of squeezingrollers 89 and 91. It should be understood that the washing step may beomitted provided the tow 11, as it emerges from the neutralization step,is of a proper pH level for ultimate use as a food product or otherproduct. The washing will only be necessary when the basic fluid usedfor treating the tow 11 in the neutralization step contains someundesirable characteristic such as an obnoxious odor, unusual taste, orother damaging characteristics.

After neutralization and washing the filaments are impregnated withbinders, flavoring agents, and the like if the tow 11 is to be made orprocessed into a suitable food product. Suitable binders include ediblematerials, such as starches, cereals, dextrins, proteins, gumsalginates, and the like. Again a third apparatus may be connected intandem with the previous apparatus which performs the washing step. Aspreviously noted in connection with the neutralizing and washing step,the treating fluid is combined with the tow 11. The binders andflavoring agents are then formed in a bath 83 with the tow 11. The bath83 and tow 11 are again vibrated by the vibrator 74. Vibration of thebath 83 and tow 11 results in separation of the fibers in the tow 11 andimpregnation of the tow 11 by the various binders and flavoring agentsto insure a uniform distribution of the binder and flavoring agentsthroughout the cross section of the tow 11. Again the tow 11 issimultaneously conveyed, vibrated and impregnated by the treating fluidas it travels along the length of the treating chamber 16. As previouslynoted, in connection with the neutralization and washing steps, excessbinding and flavoring agents may be removed from the tow 11 by simplegravitational separation of the tow 11 and the binding and flavoringagents at the egress end of the chamber 16. A number of other materialscan be utilized to treat the tow 11. For instance, oils, fats and othermaterials may be subsequently added to the fibers separately. Thus, thefibers can first be passed through a bath containing a binder andpreferably also, the flavoring agents. The fibers can then be passedthrough a bath of an oil such as those previously described or meltedfat. It is also understood that the individual fibers or bundles ofdifferent sizes can be treated with the above described agents tosimulate meats of different textures.

On the other hand, the binders, flavoring agents, and oils or fats canbe applied to the fibers in a single opera tion or step. Thus, thevarious additives, including binders, flavoring agents, and so forth canbe emulsified, and the fibers can be passed through the emulsion toprovide an even distribution of the binders, fat, and flavoring agentsin the simulated meat products. An edible emulsifier can be used toprepare the additive emulsion. Representative of such emulsifiers are:monoand diglycerides of fatty acids, such as monostearin, monopalmitin,monoolein, and dipalmitin; higher fatty acid esters of sugars, such assucrose partial palmitate and sucrose partial oleate; phosphoric andsulfuric acid esters, such as dodecyl glyceryl ether sulfates andmonostearin phosphate; partial esters of glycerol and both higher andlower fatty acids, such as glyceryl lactopalmitate; and polyoxyalkyleneethers of fatty esters of polyhydric alcohols, such as the polyoxyethylene ethers of sorbitan monostearate and sorbitan distearate.

Dyes and pigments or other coloring material may also be added to thefibers along with the binders, flavoring agents and oils and fats. Thedyes and the like may be added at any state of the fiber preparation.Thus they can be added with the other additives previously described.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simplyillustrative of the application of the principles of the invention.Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled inthe art which will embody the principles of the invention and fallwithin the spirit and scope thereof.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A vibratory apparatus for treating edible spun protein fibers whichcomprises means for confining said fibers, means for introducing saidfibers into said means for confining, means for introducing a treatingfluid into said means for confining, and means for imparting vibratorymovements having vertical and horizontal components to said means forconfining to agitate and convey said fibers and treating fiuid alongsaid means for confining.

2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which said means forconfining includes a tube having the input end bent at an angle withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the tube to facilitate introductionof said fibers into said tube.

3. A vibratory apparatus for treating edible spun pro- 5 tein fiberswhich comprises a longitudinally extending enclosed processing chamberhaving an inlet and an outlet longitudinally spaced from each other,means for feeding a tow of edible spun protein fiber into said inlet,means for feeding a treating fluid into said inlet, and means forrapidly vibrating said chamber at a frequency, amplitude, and directioncausing conveying movement of said tow and treating fluid from saidinlet to said outlet.

4. A vibratory apparatus for treating edible spun protein fibers whichcomprises means for confining said fibers, means for eXtracting fluidfrom said fibers and for directing said fibers into said means forconfining, means for introducing a treating fluid into 'said means forconfining, a chassis, a vibrator mounted on said chassis for impartingvibratory movements to said means for confining to agitate and conveysaid fibers and treating fluid along said means for confining, and meansfor carrying said fibers away from said means for confining and forremoving excess treating fluid from said fibers.

5. An apparatus in accordance With claim 4 Which further includes meansassociated with said means for introducing for returning treating fluidremoved from said fibers for re-introduction into said means forconfining.

6. A vibratory apparatus for treating a continuous length of edible spunprotein fibers comprising a base, a tube having an ingress and egressand mounted on said base with the ingress elevated above the egress,roller means for directing said product through said ingress, a chassis,vibratory means mounted on said chassis for importing vibrations havingvertical and horizontal components to said base and tube to agitate andconvey said fibers, means for introducing a treating fluid through saidingress, and a pair of closely spaced and adjustable rollers near saidegress for removing said fibers from said egress and for removing excesstreating fluid from said product.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 663,452 12/ 1900Maertens 68--22 X 718,651 1/ 1903 McConVille 68-207 X 786,264 4/ 1905Butterworth 6822 1,403,126 1/ 1922 Lyth. 2,222,777 11/ 1940 Linke.2,241,646 5/ 1941 Rathjens. 2,545,445 3/1951 Chatterton 68-207 X2,773,375 12/1956 Cox 68-205 2,800,682 7/1957 Dooley 68-181 X 3,135,1906/1964 Lewis 99-443 IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner.

\VALTER A. SCHEEL, Examiner.

1. A VIBRATORY APPARATUS FOR TREATING EDIBLE SPUN PROTEIN FIBERS WHICHCOMPRISES MEANS FOR CONFINING SAID FIBERS, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING SAIDFIBERS INTO SAID MEANS FOR CONFINING, MEANS FOR INTRODUCING A TREATINGFLUID INTO SAID MEANS FOR CONFINING, AND MEANS FOR IMPARTING VIBRATORYMOVEMENTS HAVING VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL COMPONENTS TO SAID MEANS FORCONFINING TO AGITATE AND CONVEY SAID FIBERS AND TREATING FLUID ALONGSAID MEANS FOR CONFINING.